1. Field of the Invention
This document relates to a display device, and more particularly, to an optical film for a display device and a method for fabricating the same. Although embodiments of the invention are suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for improving anti-scratch, anti-fouling and anti-reflection characteristics.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Display devices, such as a plasma display panel (PDP), an electroluminescent display (ELD), a liquid crystal display (LCD), and the like, have received much attention because of their fast response speed, low power consumption, and high color reproduction rate. Such display devices are employed for diverse home appliances including TVs, computer monitors, notebook computers, mobile phones, displays of refrigerators, and the like. In particular, recently, display devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), automated teller machines (ATMs), and the like, allowing the input of information by using touch screens, are now being commonly used.
In display devices, an optical film, such as an anti-glare film, a polarizer, a prism sheet and the like, are attached to a backlight unit or a display panel to prevent degradation of the contrast caused by transmission and reflection of external light, prevent reflection of an image, and to protect the screen. In particular, for a display device having a function of inputting information by directly contacting the user's hand or a stylus pen on the surface of the display device, the necessity of an optical film that can have high resistance to fingerprints or blurs due to a touch of the user's hand or the stylus pen or that can have the characteristics of being able to remove fingerprints or blurs, namely, anti-fouling characteristics, have been raised.
In the related art, an acrylic polymer material having a relatively high surface energy (about 40 mN/m˜50 mN/m) is positioned on a screen of the display device. Therefore, the acrylic polymer material strongly interacts with contaminants (namely, it strongly attracts contaminants) so as to easily attach the contaminants on the screen. When the contaminants attach to the acrylic polymer material on the screen, it is very difficult to wipe the contaminants from the screen, and the screen can be scratched by the contaminants while trying to wipe the screen. Also, because prism sheet utilized in a backlight unit has the shapes of peak portion and valley portion, the peak portion can be easily broken or abraded by an exterior force.